The Who's Roger Daltrey Has Viral Meningitis; Postpone U.S. Tour

The Who have been forced to postpone the rest of their U.S. tour until the spring after Roger Daltrey was diagnosed with viral meningitis.

28 dates will have to be rescheduled from the tour that was set to run from September 14 through December 13. The first four of those dates were postponed earlier in the week due to Daltrey's "mystery illness" but, after further tests, the severity of Roger's illness was determined and the entire tour put off.

Viral meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal chord. Serious, but less so than bacterial meningitis, there are no drugs to fight the disease and the only treatment is to alleviate the symptoms and allow time for the body to fight off the disease. Between 30 and 40,000 cases are seen in the U.S. each year.

The band released a statement on their webpage:

THE WHO today confirmed that they are postponing all remaining dates on their “THE WHO HITS 50!” North American tour. They had initially postponed FOUR shows on doctors orders after Roger Daltrey contracted a mystery virus. Initially it was hoped that the rest of the tour might proceed, but after extensive tests the seriousness of his condition became apparent when doctors diagnosed Roger as having viral Meningitis and prescribed a period of rest. The band apologize to fans and realize that the postponement will cause an inconvenience for ticketholders. It wasn’t a decision taken lightly–THE WHO always give their fans 100% and were never going to compromise the show, but ultimately the band had no alternative but to postpone the tour.

Roger was particularly disappointed as he had been especially looking forward to the Teen Cancer America benefit in Los Angeles, a charity that he and THE WHO have worked tirelessly for. Thankfully he is already getting better and said, “We are very sorry to disappoint our fans in this way. For the last four weeks, I have been in and out of the hospital and have been diagnosed with viral Meningitis. I am now on the mend and feeling a lot better but I am going to need a considerable time to recover. The doctors tell me I will make a complete recovery, but that I should not do any touring this year.”

Pete Townshend added, “We are rescheduling all the shows for next Spring 2016. We apologize to all our fans who have supported us in the last 50 years. Once Roger is completely well we will come back stronger than ever and Roger and I will give you all a show to remember.”